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Emmanuel Macron’s Cabinet Reshuffle Includes New Appointments

French President Emmanuel Macron recently reshuffled his cabinet in an announcement made on Friday. He appointed a socialist lawmaker Olivier Dussopt in a top budget position amid rumblings from the country’s leftists who have continually accused his pro-centrist national government of mainly favoring the rich.

The cabinet reshuffle was done after Christophe Castaner, President Macron’s government spokesman and ultra-loyal ally, was selected to lead the Republic on the Move (LREM) party. Under the cabinet changes, Olivier Dussopt will become the new junior minister within the public accounts ministry that is led by Gerald Darmanin. The 39-year-old Dussopt is a regional affairs specialist.

Dussopt had voted against President Macron’s proposed budget for 2018 when it was presented before the national assembly only a few days prior his appointment into the cabinet. Under his new position, he will oversee France’s public sector finances, which President Macron has vowed to trim. The 2018 budget has put on hold major infrastructure projects. Moreover, almost 1,600 jobs within the civil service sector will be axed in the coming year.

The nomination of Olivier Dussopt was not well received by members of his leftist party. One party official called Rachid Temal was quoted by the AFP stating that Dussopt is no longer considered a member of the Socialist Party.

Another new appointment into President Macron’s cabinet is the 49-year-old Delphine Geny-Stephann. She was a high-ranking official of the French finance ministry until 2005. She later joined Saint-Gobain, a French group that manufactures glass and building materials.

President Macron named Delphine the new junior finance minister under Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister. Le Maire stated that Macron was adamant to bring the country’s deficit below the three percent of GDP threshold, which is the limit set by the European Union.

Benjamin Griveaux, a junior finance minister, has been appointed as the next government’s spokesman replacing Christophe Castaner. Griveaux was previously the spokesman for President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche movement. The party swept to the French presidency in May in an unprecedented turn of events beating more popular political parties to the seat.

Emmanuel Macron is keen to rekindle the support and popularity of his political base especially after passing several tax cuts and labor overhauls that his leftwing supporters and trade unionists insist favor the wealthy and businesses. This is in contrast to the notion that his presidency would favor the people. Last weekend, protesters marched to the president’s official Paris residence protesting and denouncing his anti-social policies.